Goodbye to my Grandpa
by celrock
Summary: Six-year-old Shena Pickles, says goodbye to her maternal grandfather, Grandpa Chuckie Finster. Wrote this story in memory of Christine Cavanaugh, hope you enjoy, despite the tragic events of this story.


Goodbye to my Grandpa

Summary: Six-year-old Shena Pickles, says goodbye to her maternal grandfather, Grandpa Chuckie Finster. Wrote this story in memory of Christine Cavanaugh, hope you enjoy, despite the tragic events of this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rugrats, they're the property of their original creaters. I own Zack, while Peter is owned by TCKing12, and Rosiland, is owned by Nyroapy-Harpor

Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts, December 22, 2065

Shena Pickles, a young, brounette girl typically wearing pink dresses and black shoes, was quite the little adventurous little girl, taking after her father, Darin Pickles, and her late paternal tgrandfather at this time, Tommy Pickles, who sadly, had died when Shena was only age five, after battling Alhimer's Disease for over two years. But while Shena went through the death of her grandpa Tommy, she still had grandpa Chuckie by her side, as well as grandma Nicole, grandma Silvia, and her parents, Darin and Melenda, who like her two grandpas, her mommy and daddy were the inseparable dynamic duo since their days as toddlers, just as her grandpas were for as long as anybody could remember, and even longer than that. But sometime after Tommy's death in 2064, Chuckie started to go downhill, as he developed respiratory problems, ending up in the hospital not long after Valentine's Day in 2065. Just as Shena went to visit her grandpa Tommy in the nursing home everyday, continuing to watch videos with him of his childhood, better known as the Rugrats, in hopes to bring back her grandpa's memory, and hoping he'd live forever, while Shena didn't have the heart to watch those videos anymore after Tommy died, she did at least go visit grandpa Chuckie in the hospital every day after she got out of kindergarten, and continued this, even after she got out of first grade at three o'clock in the afternoon. She was close to her grandparents, seeing that her mother was busy at a local art gallery much of the time, and her daddy was a famous movie director, taking in the footsteps that Shena's paternal grandpa had to give up his tenth grade year of high school, post an accident that left him blind, thus, causing her daddy to be away much of the time. No matter, come Halloween of 2065, it was apparent that Chuckie wasn't going to get any better, as it got harder and harder for him to speak. He coughed constantly, and by Thanksgiving, he was more or less, on life support, having to eat his Thanksgiving meal through feeding tubes and an IV. He didn't have much longer to live, and poor little Shena, was not ready, to have her other grandpa leave her.

Three days before Christmas in 2065, the gang went to visit Chuckie, as they weren't sure if he was going to make it to see another Christmas. By this time, about the only way Chuckie could communicate with anybody is by squeezing their hand, or writing small notes down on a piece of paper or a small sticky note. Something told him that this might be his last day, as he had been resesitated three times the day before, so Chuckie made up his mind, to lay upon his granddaughter, his final will and testament. When Shena walked into the door of Chuckie's hospital room, Chuckie handed her two things. To Shena's surprise, she took the items from her grandfather's hand with no hesitation, thinking back to when her grandpa Tommy did something similar before his death. There was no piece of paper when Tommy handed her her final gift, just an old plastic screwdriver, which Shena took the hint, he wanted her to keep it forever, and think of him, but she couldn't bring herself to keep that hunk of plastic. Before Tommy's casket was closed at the funeral home, she slipped the screwdriver into his kascet, and whispered these words to him.

"You keep it grandpa, and go on all the heavenly adventures you can up there, someday, Chuckie and I will be there to join you." Whispered Shena, before her parents dragged her away, and the funeral proceeded.

Now, there she was, faced by her only grandpa left, his hair, no longer bright red, but a dull gray, but still as messy as it had been ever since he was a two-year-old toddler, and a pair of square rimmed glasses on his face, his face, very much drained of its color. Shena took the items from her grandfather's hand. They consisted of a note in Chuckie's handwriting on a sticky note, and a little moon shaped rock. Shena was starting to learn how to read in her first grade class, so she read the note out loud to her parents and grandmothers, who were behind her in the room at this point.

"I've had this little moon rock ever since I was two, and it's helped me through some tough times. Now, I want you to have it, let me know that my granddaughter will have this, and think of me, whenever you should get ascared, this rock will keep you safe, just as it did for me, for many years. Goodbye my sweet Shena, your grandpa, Chuckie." The note was signed.

"Thank you grandpa Chuckie." Said Shena, taking Chuckie's hand, and tucking the moon rock and sticky note into her dress pocket.

Chuckie couldn't speak, so he simply gave Shena's hand a strong squeeze, before his breathing started to give out. For a while, Chuckie's moon rock was in the possession of his daughter Melenda, when she found it on their final Christmas in Yucaipa, California, before Stu and Didi sold their house and moved to Florida, but at some point between then and now, it ended back up in Chuckie's possession, just as the plastic screwdriver, once belonging to Darin, somehow ended back up in Tommy's possession before he finally took his last breath, and now, it was time for the third generation to care for these posessions, should Shena decide to do so. She stood there, tears starting to come to her eyes, as Chuckie didn't look much different than Tommy did on his final day of life, thus, the six-year-old could tell he didn't have much time left. A little while later, a nurse came in to resesitate Chuckie one final time.

"Mister and Misses Pickles, I'm afraid Chuckie here, does not have much time left." Said Nurse Rosiland, as she performed the resesitation, for what would most likely be the final time. She then handed Nicole some forms, which she looked over.

These forms were the do not resesitate forms, which, if Nicole were to sign them, that would be it for her husband of over thirty years, and her friend since middle school. As tears started to form in Nicole's eyes, she did the hardest thing she's ever had to do in her entire life, she signed the papers.

"That's it guys, we'd better say goodbye to Chuckie, he doesn't have much time left." Said Nicole in a weak, sad voice, as she knelt down to her knees, and cried in her husband's shoulder.

Everyone else huddled around the dying Chuckie, as they too let out cries of sadness. Shena buried her face into her mommy's stomach, and asked the same question she asked when her grandpa Tommy died the previous year.

"Oh mommy, why does grandpa Chuckie have to die?" Shena asked.

"Oh sweetheart, Chuckie has to go just as Tommy had to go, because, it's part of life. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but we all have our time here, and, it looks like our favorite dynamic duo, is finally ready to depart, but you know, I'm sure Tommy has been lonely up in heaven without his bestest friend, and now, they can have each other. But I'm still gonna miss him." Finished Melenda, as she stroked her daughter's hair, and started crying uncontrollably.

It was true, Tommy was the first to die, just as he was the first to go on all of those adventures growing up throughout life, his leadership skills didn't stop when it came time to face death, and, he would have tried to convince Chuckie to go along with him, but when it came time to die, the decision wasn't Tommy's anymore, it was God's decision, and maybe Tommy had been convincing God to convince Chuckie to join him, and somehow, at that very moment, God's message, had finally sunk in, as about half an hour later, at five o'clock in the afternoon, after Chuckie's final resesitation, his heart gave out, leaving everyone to stare down at their dead father, father-in-law, husband, friend, and grandfather.

Christmas of 2065 was pretty quiet, as everybody mourned the death of Chuckie, not being very much so in the Christmas spirit that year. All Nicole could talk about, was that one Christmas when they were young, when Chuckie stole a tree from a neighbor's, because he wanted a big happy Christmas, only to learn in the end, the message that his father was always giving, the message that said, Christmas begins and ends with family.

"I remember that Christmas, it was the same year my brother and I wrote a Chanukah song. If only T were still here, as I sadly, don't remember the lyrics now." Said Dil, who had joined everybody for the Christmas holidays.

Location: A funeral home in Yucaipa, California, December 30, 2065

Everybody was gathered at the funeral home, to pay their respects towards Chuckie. Even Zack, Peter, Phil and Lil made it, as Shena saw Lil place two binkies into Chuckie's casket and heard her whisper something to him.

"Remember when we got stuck together forever, well, take these with you, and know, that we'll all be married, even if only in spirit. To you Chuckie, and tell Tommy when you get there, I do." Whispered Lil, as she placed the two binkies into the casket, in disbelief that she kept them all these years.

After Lil was finished, Shena stepped up to her grandfather's casket, and just as Shena couldn't let Tommy go off into heaven without his plastic screwdriver, she pulled the little moon shaped rock out of her pocket, and placed it into Chuckie's casket next to him.

"Here grandpa, take this with you, and know we're safe down here on earth, letting your spirit, watch over us." Whispered Shena, as she placed the moon rock next to Chuckie, before they closed the casket.

Shena then walked around, and saw several pictures of Chuckie from his childhood, all the way to the last picture taken of him. She saw everything, from a really tiny infant in the arms of his late mother Melinda, to a two-year-old Chuckie with black hair, after not wanting red hair no more, to a three-year-old Chuckie, playing with Tommy, Zack, and his step sister Kimi, a four-year-old-Chuckie as the ring barer in Taffy's wedding, to a Chuckie in elementary school, performing Karate, after getting lessons from his maternal grandparents, and falling in love with them, to a teenage Chuckie at his first dance with Nicole, to pictures of Chuckie and Nicole at their wedding, to pictures of him holding his daughter Melenda as a baby, to the final pictures of him in the hospital, with Shena snuggling up next to him.

No sooner than Shena had finished looking at all of the pictures of Chuckie, when it was time for the funeral. Many people had things to say about Chuckie.

"I've known Chuckie since his third birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better friend." Said Zack.

"While Chuckie was always a scaredy cat, he always found a way to conquer his fears in the end." Said Peter.

"I'll never forget when I decided to act like Chuckie, because Lil and I wanted to be different. I could never be scared of everything all of the time, but despite Chuckie's scaredy cat nature, he lived a very good life." Said Phil.

"I'll never forget when Chuckie and I were married as kids, we never ended up together as adults, but with how close our families have been all of these years, it's almost as if we were married, and I just want to say Chuckie, I'll never forget you." Said Lil.

"I've known my brother since that day we met in Paris. He's been the best and only big brother ever, and I'll never forget you Chuckie." Said Kimi, as a tear started to roll down her cheek.

"My father-in-law was the best friend of my dad for as long as anybody could remember. Dad, I miss you, and Chuckie, may you rest in peace." Said Darin.

"Oh daddy , you and I were so much alike, and I'm gonna miss you, but just know this, I love you." Said Melenda.

"Maybe when we first met, you felt you had to be somebody else to impress me, lying to me and telling me you were some kid named Chongo totally made me angry, but after getting to know the real Chuckie, and be married to you for thirty years, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Rest in peace sweetheart." Said Nicole.

"I'll never forget you Chuckie." Said Silvia, who started to cry, unable to think of anything else to say.

Then, Shena came up to say something, but the six-year-old couldn't hold it together, and just, started balling.

The crowd awed, and gathered arouhnd the saddened little girl, giving her a hug.

Two hours later, they were at the cimetary, about ready to bury Chuckie. They had dug out a space to bury him, next to his father, his step mother, and his late biological mother, who had been there ever since Chuckie was eight-months-old. Now Chuckie would be lay down to rest, with the rest of his family.

"Goodbye grandpa." Whispered Shena one last time, as the dirt covered up Chuckie, and everybody, lay down flowers and piles of leaves. Shena, remembering how much Chuckie loved dandelions, picked a bouquet of them, and lay them down on her grandfather's grave.

Just then, the wind blew, and a butterfly flew overhead. Angelica, who while she didn't make it for the funeral, due to her plane being late, made it for the burial, saw the butterfly in the sky.

"I guess Finster is finally cute." Said Angelica.

Phil and Lil laughed at her remark, being taken back to a memory sometime ago, when Chuckie thought he could turn cute, by wrapping up into a cacoon, and turning into a butterfly, better known by him as a Chuckerfly. Angelica, also liked the idea, so followed suit after Chuckie did it, wrapping up in the same pile of blankets he used the first time around to make her cacoon.

As everybody knelt down by Chuckie's grave sight, Shena lay down in the grass, and looked up into the clouds. She either must have fallen asleep, or was daydreaming, as the clouds started to form figures, and talk to her. Then, it hit Shena, she was gazing up into heaven.

Chuckie entered the gates of Heaven, to be greeted by his father, his two mothers, and Tommy.

"Hey Chuckeroo, I knew you'd finally find me." Said Tommy, giving his friend a hug.

"Hey Tommy, I've missed you." Said Chuckie.

"Me too Chuckie, Heaven just isn't the same without your bestest friend." Said Tommy.

"Yeah, but now we can be together all of the time, where nothing bad can happen." Said Chuckie.

Then, the two faces of Tommy and Chuckie turned to look down on earth, where they saw their granddaughter Shena, staring up at the clouds.

"Thanks for my moon rock Shena, and my bouquet of dandelions, you continue to pick dandelions, and always, think of me." Said Chuckie.

"Come on Chuckie, she can't go through life just picking dandelions. Remember what I tolded you lastest year Shena, go on all the adventures you can, cuz a granddaughter's gotta do, what a granddaughter's gotta do." Said Tommy.

"And always remember, we'll be there with you, no matter what happens, even if I don't always think what you're doing is such a good idea, if you live life to the fullest, well, you'll be glad you did in the end." Said Chuckie.

"Thank you grandpas Tommy and Chuckie, you guys are the bestest, and I'll never forget you. May the spirit of my favorite dynamic duo, live in my heart, forever." Said Shena, as she turned her gaze away from the clouds in the sky, and turned towards her parents, who were smiling down at her, and giving her a hug.

"It's time to go sweetie." Said Melenda, as she scooped up her daughter, and they left the cemitary.

While Shena would always miss her two grandfather's, she never forgot them, and whenever she thought of them, she remembered all of the good times they had together, even if she was there to comfort them in their final days of life, she was glad she could be there to do that, if nothing else.

The End


End file.
